Trees & Shrubs

Abutilon 'Ines'

A new Pan-Global' intro from the USA, making a small to medium shrub, about 1.5m high and wide. Flowers are a lovely combo of soft yellowish-cream petals, backed by dusky, brick-red calyces, and are seen throughout summer. One of the hardiest varieties, though best sited sensibly for most of us, preferably with wall shelter. A hybrid of A. megapotamicum.

Abutilon 'Orange Hot Lava'

A new intro from the USA, this is a superb A. megapotamicum hybrid forming a compact multistemmed plant approx' 1m or more high. A mass of orange bells, net-veined in red and with a prominent brick-red calyx, are produced over a long period from July until frosts. Hardy with the shelter of a warm wall.

Abutilon 'Patrick Synge'

A vigorous hybrid potentially reaching about 3m on a sheltered wall. Attractive green foliage provides a good backing to the sumptuously coloured, dangling, party dress shaped flowers; seen over a long period. Petals are a glowing red-orange with a deep purple-red interior, backed by a soft, matt, red-brown calyx. Survived Jan 09 outside here!

Acacia 'Gaulois Astier'

A form selected by the southern French 'Mimosa' cut flower industry for its particularly good bunches of scented sulphur-yellow flowers. The leaves are much greener and with more substantial leaflets than A. dealbata (which it is always sold as). In most areas of the UK this would be best planted in a sheltered position, backed by a wall, where it'll bloom late winter.

Acacia baileyana 'Purpurea'

Unique and highly ornamental large shrub or small tree for a sheltered site in full sun. Light grey-blue leaves with new growth plum-purple through the growing season. Golden yellow 'Mimosa' flowers in early spring. Easy in a pot, can be hard pruned every year. Takes a fair amount of frost, though is best sited sensibly. My best selling plant by far.

Acacia pataczekii

Only described in 1978 from a discovery in the cool highlands of Tasmania, 'Wally's Wattle' is the hardiest of all Acacias, known to tolerate as low as -18c! A large evergreen shrub or very small tree here in the UK, with a dense bushy crown of linear blue-green leaves (actually phyllodes) and a mass of pale yellow little balls of flower in late winter. Most rare!

Acer buergerianum (new)

From Eastern China and Korea, this is a very hardy species with three lobed foliage, turning to red and orange tones very late in autumn/winter. The grey and beige bark on older trees is very distinctively flaky, exfoliating in thin strips. A small tree in cultivation in the UK, usually to 10m only, yet up to 25m tall in warmer climates.

Acer campbellii subsp. campbellii from Burma (new)

Large in the wild, in cultivation this makes a medium sized tree with splendid 5 to 7 lobed slightly shiny green leaves, expanding red and turning to yellow in autumn. Best sited in a sheltered position like open woodland where it will be hardy throughout most of the UK. Very rare in cultivation.

Acer campestre 'Evenley Red'

A new form of our native 'field maple' from Northamptonshire, selected by Tim Whitely for its consistently good red autumn colour, which is a rather unusual colour for this species. As ever this will make an easy small tree, eventually growing, over very many years, to make a medium tree. Tough as old boots.

Acer carpinifolium

The Hornbeam Maple from Japan is most unmaple-like in foliage, until of course you get to know all the other unmaple-like Acers. This makes a small to perhaps medium sized tree with wide spreading branches and simple foliage, much like a common hornbeam, but more elongated and with a drip-tip, turning gold and brown in autumn. Easy and hardy.

Acer griseum

The Paper Bark Maple is one of the most attractive of all small trees with a very long season of interest. Very beautiful cinnamon-orange bark peeling off in thin papery pieces, and fine, yellow orange and red autumn colour are its principal attractions. Very tolerant and easy even on thin chalky soils. Not fast but lovely even when small.

Acer laevigatum NJM 10.049

Found on Tay Con Linh mountain, almost on the Chinese border in N. Vietnam at 1800m alt., this small semi-evergreen maple has long taper pointed, unlobed foliage that emerges deep red. Requiring a sheltered site in not overly cold areas.

Acer micranthum

A beautiful maple from Japan, rarely seen in the UK, with handsome, deeply lobed and finely dissected foliage, tinted red on the new growth throughout the season, turning bright scarlet and orange in autumn. Makes a small tree for any ordinary soil. Equal, or superior, to any Acer palmatum, depending on your standpoint.

Acer pectinatum

Hailing from the highest peak in Indochina, this was collected originally as A. campbellii var. fansipanense. Whatever, it is very handsome in leaf with broad 3 to 5 lobed leaves on red petioles, turning to shades of orange and gold in autumn. Best sited in a sheltered position like open woodland where it will be hardy throughout most of the UK.

Acer sterculiaceum subsp. sterculiaceum NJM 13.087

A collection from Nagaland, with large leaves flushed red when emerging and predominantly five lobed. Racemes of large yellow-green flowers in spring followed by drooping clusters of substantial fruits on females. Males have attractive red flowers. A fairly big tree eventually, happiest in a reasonably wind sheltered position.

Acer turkestanicum (new)

From SW Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, these are probably the only plants in UK cultivation of this attractive, very hardy maple. The predominantly seven lobed leaves have extra smaller lobes and show good yellow autumn colour. A handsome round headed medium sized tree.

Acradenia frankliniae

A very unusual evergreen from Tasmania. This Choisya relative makes an upright small to medium sized shrub with dainty three fingered aromatic foliage and flat clusters of white flowers in May, and occasionally again in autumn. Very hardy in cold inland gardens through the cold of Jan and Dec 2010, but best sited with some shelter.

Aesculus californica

'Californian Buckeye'. A superb, but totally neglected, very dwarf Horse Chestnut making a small spreading tree with fragrant white flowers tinted pink in dense erect panicles in mid summer. Small, neat, very attractive foliage emerges very early in the season, though is not affected by frost. Hardy and drought tolerant. In my top 10 trees.